1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to truck bed liners. More particularly, this invention relates to protective liners preferably made out of synthetic polymeric material for use in cargo beds of trucks, such as pickup trucks, to protect the truck bed from becoming dented, scratched or prematurely worn. Preferably, the truck bed liner is vacuum formed or molded from a single piece of synthetic polymeric material.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a truck bed liner of the type described including support means associated with side walls of the liner adapted to support a shelf member extending between the side walls and above the floor of the liner. Various types of shelf support means are provided to support a shelf. By providing for a shelf within a truck bed, the effective use of the truck bed is greatly increased.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various truck bed liners have been disclosed in prior art patents. Examples are the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,768 of Nix, issued May 6, 1975; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,749 of Lambitz et al, issued Sept. 13, 1977; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,481 of Nix et al, issued Sept. 5, 1978; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,335 of Nix et at, issued July 17, 1979; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,098 of Richardson, III, issued July 24, 1979; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,349 of Nix et al, issued Jan. 1, 1980; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,678 of Munoz et al, issued June 8, 1982; and PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,963 of Nix et al, issued June 29, 1982.
Except for U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,098, which discloses only a floor liner with a short upstanding wall bordering the front and sides of the truck bed, the foregoing patents disclose various types of truck bed liners which cover the floor and substantially the entire inner walls of a truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,412 of Wayne, issued July 27, 1982, discloses another type of one-piece protective liner for a pickup truck or the like in which the side walls have stepped wall panels, best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 8 and 9, for the purpose of maintaining proper conformance and a close fit between the bed and the liner and to increase the strength of the side walls, while being better able to absorb impact and frictional forces during the loading and transportation of cargo.
In none of the above-identified patents and in no other prior art of which the inventor is aware is there any disclosures of means associated with the side walls of a truck bed liner for supporting a shelf so that the effective available working area of the truck bed is significantly increased.